Sprinter shutdown jolts North County

At the Sprinter maintenance facility in Escondido, Bob Young General Manager Operations of Maintenance for Bombardier shows an example of the brake rotor that are prematurely wearing out by as much as 12 months. The brake rotor which has been unbolted from the wheel assembly is the object in the center of the axle.
— Nelvin C. Cepeda

At the Sprinter maintenance facility in Escondido, Bob Young General Manager Operations of Maintenance for Bombardier shows an example of the brake rotor that are prematurely wearing out by as much as 12 months. The brake rotor which has been unbolted from the wheel assembly is the object in the center of the axle.
— Nelvin C. Cepeda

NORTH COUNTY  North County transit officials plan to shut down the Sprinter light rail Saturday — and for up to four months — to repair a specialized brake system that’s showing accelerated wear on all 12 of the system’s trains.

They said the decision resulted from “an abundance of caution.” The setback, which the region’s transit chief described as “embarrassing” and “difficult,” is expected to inconvenience thousands who rely on the Sprinter along its 22-mile corridor from Oceanside to Escondido.

It could also shake confidence in the North County Transit District’s $477 million Sprinter line, which has seen steady ridership gains in recent years after attracting far fewer riders than initially projected. Critics skewered the Sprinter when it opened five years ago today — millions of dollars over budget and far behind schedule.

Matt Tucker, the transit agency’s executive director, pledged during a Friday news conference in Escondido that the reopening of the Sprinter “will be based on safety, not based on schedules.”

He also said some brake rotors on the Sprinter are “out of compliance” with the manufacturer’s standards. Those benchmarks are built into the transit district’s own safety rules.

Saturday and Sunday, the agency intends to use express buses to ferry passengers during the closure. The buses will run every 30 minutes and make stops at the Vista Transit Center, Palomar College and California State University San Marcos.

Bus replacement plans beyond this weekend are still in the works, the agency said. It encouraged the public to check its website — gonctd.com — for updates.

Leaders of the transit district didn’t specify a cause for the accelerated brake wear and said they didn’t know how much the repairs, bus substitutions and other aspects of the shutdown would cost. They also wouldn’t say whether private contractors or taxpayers would foot the bill.

“There’s going to be a time for all that. No one has an idea at this point,” Tucker said.

In a cruel twist, the shutdown — set for after midnight Friday — falls exactly on the fifth anniversary of the Sprinter’s opening, just as the network was emerging as “the backbone” of North County’s east-west transit network, as supporters have called it.

Saturday's planned Sprinter celebration in San Marcos — which would have featured speeches, awards and model train games — was canceled Friday.

Tucker said he learned of the brake problem “very suddenly last week.” It triggered days of arrangements for the replacement buses, according to a news release from the transit agency.

When U-T San Diego asked Tucker about the brake issue Thursday night, he said a preliminary investigation revealed that a subcontractor knew about the issue with the brakes, as did the district’s rail mechanical engineer. The information somehow didn’t make it to higher-ups at the agency, Tucker said, and the engineer who oversees maintenance contracts has resigned.

On Friday, he said the trains’ premature rotor wear on the central disc braking system fell below the maker’s standards, leading to his agency’s voluntary stop of service.